Peskov says Russia has no intent to release Sentsov at Jagland's request

Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian president, says he is not aware if the Kremlin has received the petition of Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland to pardon Oleh Sentsov but notes that it is not a prerequisite for any legal action from the point of view of the Russian legislation.

"It was probably sent through diplomatic channels. I have not seen this letter so far, so I cannot comment on it," he said.

"You must be aware that from the point of view of the Russian legislation, such a request cannot become ground for any action because you know well how the pardon procedure is held in the Russian Federation," Peskov added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Voice of America said Jagland filed a petition to President Putin for pardoning a hunger-striking Sentsov. The press office of the Council of Europe said that the petition had already been sent, and an official confirmation via Russian diplomatic channels was expected.

It is noted that as the head of the Council of Europe, the secretary-general has the right to make such move under the European Convention on Human Rights.

On June 20, Jagland visited Moscow, where he met with President Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia's Ombudsperson Tatiana Moskalkova. Following the visit, the Secretary General said he was ready to file a petition to Putin calling for Sentsov's pardon.

As reported, Sentsov is serving a sentence in the maximum security labor camp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. This prison's inmates are serving sentences for commission of grave and especially grave crimes.

Sentsov was detained by the Russian FSB Security Service in Russian-occupied Crimea in 2014 together with activist Oleksandr Kolchenko. They were brought to Russia and tried in a trumped-up case on charges of organizing acts of terror and arson on the peninsula. On Aug. 25, 2015, Sentsov and Kolchenko were sentenced to 20 years and 10 years in prison respectively. On Oct. 21, 2016, Russia refused to extradite the two Ukrainians to Ukraine, claiming they had automatically acquired Russian citizenship after the annexation of Crimea.

Sentsov’s sister Natalia Kaplan said March 16, 2018 that her brother reported on his failing health in a letter. He in particular said that he is losing his hair and has his teeth crumbling into small pieces.

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